Next year’s Barrington Concours D’Elegance, Legends and Legacies, will be held October 3–5, 2008 at Arlington Park. For more information, log onto www.barringtonconcours.org.

The inaugural Barrington Concours d’Elegance, Legends and Legacies, drew a large crowd and featured world-renowned automobiles—all to benefit three local charities.

Best of Show
1933 Packard Model 1005 Coupe
Owned by Terry Love of Ottawa, Illinois

The Barrington Concours D’Elegance, Legends And Legacies, brought together automobile enthusiasts from around the country on a gorgeous September Sunday to admire 94 of the world’s most unique classic, antique, sports, and performance racing cars.

Nearly 3,000 visitors strolled along the rolling greens and prairies of one of the Midwest’s premier venues, Makray Memorial Golf Club, enjoying classical music and taking in the view of the fabulous cars on display. The Barrington Concours was hosted by and for the benefit of three local charities: Barrington Area Conservation Trust, Cowboy Dreams of Illinois, and Hospice of Northeastern Illinois.

Mark Award
The inaugural Mark Award was presented at the Barrington Concours.
Read the story.

The charities came together more than 18 months ago with the idea to create a unique, collaborative fundraising event that would bring people to the beautiful Barrington area and bring visibility to the three charitable organizations co-sponsoring the Concours.

“Not only was this a fabulous celebration of classic automobiles, but it was also an example of how a community can embrace an idea and work together for three wonderful charities,” said Mary Bradford-White, event co-chair and President of the Barrington Area Conservation Trust. The event’s founding sponsors were Makray Memorial Golf Club and Motor Werks of Barrington, both of which contributed enormously to the success of the event.

The Concours weekend kicked off with a welcome dinner for exhibitors and sponsors at the Onion Pub and Brewery of Barrington. Saturday’s events featured a Road Rally in the morning that highlighted the beautiful countryside of the equestrian-oriented Barrington area and a special tour of the incomparable Sanfilippo estate in Barrington Hills. A black-tie evening gala added a festive touch.

But the highlight of the weekend was Sunday’s Concours D’Elegance, which featured 94 automobiles of the highest caliber from private collections in the United States and Canada. In addition, representatives from Rahal, Letterman brought racecars for exhibit, and the local Lamborghini and Porsche clubs brought cars as well. Hagerty Insurance also kicked off its brand-new Youth Judging Program, in which 15 youngsters between the ages of 8 and 16 were invited to shadow adult judges and participate in choosing and presenting the Youth Judges Award.
The weather was perfect on Sunday, September 16, and, according to chief judge Jonathan A. Stein, most “participants and attendees were amazed that the concours was such a gracious, hospitable, and well-run event in its debut year.” Automobiles on display in 12 classes included a 1907 Packard Runabout, a 1930 LaSalle 340 7 Passenger Touring, the 1937 Delahaye 135M Cabriolet displayed at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, a 1938 Talbot-Lago Teardrop Coupe, a 1939 Bugatti T-57C, a 1957 Ferrari 410 Super America Coupe and a 1972 McLaren M20-1 Roadster.

As the awards ceremony came to a close, the Best of Show award was presented to a 1933 Packard Model 1005 Coupe owned by Terry Love of Ottawa, Illinois .